Pass the Ball
by Warlordess
Summary: [Finished.] When Sissi convinces her father to host a huge dance two weeks before summer break, and Ulrich gets into a fight with Yumi, will she be able to recruit him as her date? And what is XANA planning during these happenings? UY, OS, JA, hinting of
1. Chapter One

Code: Lyoko  
  
Pass the Ball  
  
By: Chibi  
  
Disclaimer: Chibi does not own the characters of Code: Lyoko. Though she is unsure of the people who DO, she's positive that it isn't her.  
  
Summary: As an end-of-term fever buzzes around every student, the Principal, pressured by Sissi, agrees to throw a sware in honor of the students who would be graduating that year and all of their accomplishments. Everyone has their eyes set on someone but complicated measurements may keep them from going with who they want to go with. These measurements in turn lead to some of the most crazy matchmaking mix-ups possible. More of a social fic than a XANA-attacks-Earth-and-almost-kills-off-an-important-character fic.  
  
Warning: Includes Yumi/Ulriche, Odd/Sam, and possibly Jeremy/Aealita. Also a good amount of Sissi-scheming.

WARNING TWO: This is my first Code: Lyoko fic. You have been warned. Do not expect perfection.  
  
---  
  
"I can't believe you actually got him to agree to it, Sissi." Herb stated, looking almost adoringly at her.  
  
She couldn't help but glare at his comment, "And what is THAT supposed to mean? Surely you didn't actually think that I would fail to convince Daddy of how much we deserve a celebration!" She stared prissily and angrily into the boys face, making him turn red and stutter.  
  
"O-of course not, Sissi! It's just... It proves to what extent your persuasive abilites can reach." He replied and she actually smiled, or, as most would call it, smirked.  
  
"Naturally." And the two walked on, the ever silent Nick trudging along behind them, "Now all I have to do is get a couple of lowlives to make about five hundred posters sponsoring the dance and have them hang them on the walls around the school." She turned around and stared at her 'henchmen', sizing them up, "I suppose you two will have to do. And they had better look perfect, all right?! I can't risk my reputation going down the drain because a couple of stooges like yourselves messed this up. Daddy will have the information pertaining to the event by tomorrow so you can start on the borderlines tonight!"  
  
"Yes, Sissi..." Herb muttered. If it wasn't for the fact that he was strangely attracted to the principals daughter, he would have jumped out of this ship a long time ago.  
  
The group of three continued on down the hall, not really bothering to move out of the way of people. Sissi had made it clear earlier on that if anyone were to clear the hallways, it certainly wasn't going to be her. They were just turning the corner to head outside into the courtyard when Sissi's face broke into a smile.  
  
"So is Jim really going to make you all do a hundred laps before the Soccer championships?" Odd's voice rang through the air as he pulled out a diskette player and proceeded to place the headphones around his neck for safe keeping.  
  
"I don't think so. He was probably just trying to hype us up. There would be no point in exhausting us right before we went for the trophy. Besides, the Principal would probably suspend him from his duties for child abuse if he went through with it--" Ulriche replied before Sissi called out to him and he 'accidentally' hit his head against his locker in retaliation.  
  
"Oh, Ulriche dear! There you are! I was wondering where you had disappeared to!" Sissi managed to catch him before he could escape and he was forced to listen to her as she rambled on and on about whatever she'd just managed to coax her father into letting her do, "...He said that it was all right! I suppose, naturally, that you'll be taking me?" She held out her hand as though waiting for him to kiss it.  
  
"Whatever." Ulriche stated, praying that Jeremy would happen to call and need them for a Lyoko mission. No such luck seemed in his favor as she continued on telling him about the plans for next weeks... Something or other.  
  
"...Well, you think about it, Dear, and tell me your answer whenever you find the time!" Sissi waved as she pulled her followers after her, exceedingly cheerful about what he had 'supposedly' been listening to her say.  
  
"Well, I suppose that her idea isn't too selfish." Odd stated. Ulriche snorted. He hadn't been listening to a word she'd said (tuning her out had become second nature) but he was willing to bet that Sissi had NEVER done anything that wasn't selfish, "Were you even listening to her?" Odd asked as they headed to Mrs. Hearse Physics class.  
  
"Do I EVER listen to her?" Ulriche stated as they sat in their seats and waited for the other students to walk in.  
  
"Well, no. But this time her plans COULD come in your favor." Odd stated, "It's an end-of-year dance. If you manage to ask a certain someone there, you never know what could happen."  
  
"I really hate it when you take the time to make sense, Odd."  
  
"Alas, it is the curse of a lack of soda." And, just as Jeremy sat down at their side, Odd flipped on his headphones and, using his experience, made it easily look like he was paying attention to everything Mrs. Hearse droned on about.  
  
"I hear Sissi's up to her old tricks." Jeremy stated, multitasking as he took notes on what appeared to be the 'Laws of Universal Revolution', "Don't worry. I'm sure that you can escape it somehow."  
  
It hit Ulriche at that point that, unless he managed to convince his more-than-stict father to remove him from the school before the end of term, there would be NO way to avoid Sissi and her inevitable amount of tricks. With the whole school probably all ready accomidating the news of the dance, the frenzy would be more than he could escape.  
  
"Ulriche, please; I've asked you twice to pay attention! Perhaps I should assign you janitorial duties to convince you that this class is more important than your personal thoughts! Now, please take some notes so I don't get called into appointment because I let my students dwaddle in their own minds!" Mrs. Hearse's voice came at him like a ball at a bat but he wasn't listening. He could always get the notes from Jeremy anways.  
  
If he managed to ask someone to the ball before Sissi made the cat-climb at him, he could be home free. And just to outdo Sissi even more, why not Yumi (Note the fact that he was all ready trying to convince himself that it wouldn't be his first choice to pick the tall raven-haired Lyoko girl), who was all ready considered heavy prey under the preppy girls Halk's Eye? If he managed to get Yumi to agree then they both could be spared the horrors of going either alone or with someone like... Well... SISSI.  
  
"Ulriche! That's it; detention!"  
  
Ulriche spent the lunch hour mopping the floor and washing the desks of the Physics classroom.  
  
---  
  
"I can't wait!"  
  
"I hear that there will be an official Disk Jockey!"  
  
"Did you hear about all of the decorations?"  
  
"And the theme is supposed to be something really original."  
  
Rumors were being swapped by eight o'clock the next morning. As Ulriche, Jeremy, and Odd made their way over to Yumi, who was sitting on the usual bench she waited at for them to arrive, they couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed to be in high spirits about the coming of events the next week. There was no way it could be cancelled now.  
  
"So, I hear that you three are being subjected to another 'Sissi'." Yumi stated with a small grin. Ulriche was the only one who didn't return it or laugh it off. He stalked over to the bench and sat next to the tall girl, whose expression altered from humorous to serious in .o5 seconds flat, "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Nothing, accept that Sissi's all ready made the jump." Odd answered for him, "Asked him yesterday at his locker."  
  
"Well, Ulriche, you could always tell her 'No'. I mean, what's to stop you?"  
  
"You're not here twenty-four, seven. Have you ever seen the way she follows me around? In fact..." He pulled out his cell phone and caught sight of the time flashing across the clockhead, "I'm due in about four minutes and... Thirty-seven seconds."  
  
"Well, why don't you just turn her down? I never see you actually tell her to stop chasing you." Yumi stated, almost offendingly. Ulriche looked at her and replied with a simple answer.  
  
"It's not at all that easy to phase her."  
  
Sure enough, three minutes and twenty-nine seconds later, Sissi just happened to stumble out of the seventh dorm hall and strut in their direction.  
  
"Oh, Ulriche darling! I hope that you've thought about my offer? It seems that my dance has all ready made quite an impact on the student body." Indeed, a group of students passed them, all murmuring excitedly about whatever rumors they'd heard.  
  
Just as Ulriche was opening his mouth to reply, he noticed that Yumi's eyes had caught Sissi's and they had proceeded to stare each other down. Just as sparks were beginning to shoot from one's glare to the other, a shout rung out through the air.  
  
"Odd! There you are!" It was Sam, hurrying across the ground with a catlike smile on her face. Odd had always liked that smile. It reminded him, almost suspiciously, of his Lyoko avatar.  
  
Sissi stood straight again and turned away, making it apparent that Herb and Nick were behind her. She smiled sappingly at Ulriche, nodded curtly to Jeremy and Odd, and flat out huffed past Yumi. Her 'boys' followed but Herb turned back and gave a small shake of his head before heading after her. Everyone stood back and let the hotheaded girl through, all too aware of the consequences of getting in her way.  
  
"Odd, I was hoping to talk to you about... Something." Sam said as she arrived, breathless yet ecstatically happy.  
  
"Sure Sam. Can it wait until lunch though? I mean, classes are about to start and if I don't get my morning sugar-rush, then I happen to act almost... Normal." He stated it as if it were the most horrible word ever to become part of the English language.  
  
"Uh, yeah. Lunch; that's great." Sam stated and also turned back towards the main school, "I'll see you then." And she walked off, looking almost relieved about something.  
  
"Well, if anything else, Sissi's done one thing that no one else has been able to do." Odd stated as they saw her stalk past a few more students, sending them almost flinging themselves into a puddle of mud.  
  
"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" Ulriche asked as he got up from the bench and stretched.  
  
"She's managed to strike fear into the hearts of every student, just by walking." And Ulriche found he couldn't contain himself when he broke into peals of laughter with the others.  
  
---  
  
A/N: There you go; the first part. I hope that you all enjoyed and look forward to more next time!  
  
PS: Give a dear aspiring author a review, will ya? I know it may not be the best but I'm trying!  
  
Chibi is ending transmission.


	2. Chapter Two

Code: Lyoko

Pass the Ball

By: Chibi

Disclaimer: Chibi does not own the characters of Code: Lyoko. Though she is unsure of the people who DO, she's positive that it isn't her.

Summary: As an end-of-term fever buzzes around every student, the Principal, pressured by Sissi, agrees to throw a sware in honor of the students who would be graduating that year and all of their accomplishments. Everyone has their eyes set on someone but complicated measurements may keep them from going with who they want to go with. These measurements in turn lead to some of the most crazy matchmaking mix-ups possible. More of a social fic than a XANA-attacks-Earth-and-almost-kills-off-an-important-character fic.

Warning: Includes Yumi/Ulriche, Odd/Sam, and possibly Jeremy/Aealita. Also a good amount of Sissi-scheming.

PLUS: Okay, first I'd love to repeat my thanks to all of those who reviewed the first chapter. I wrote this entire fic (meaning it's currently finished and laying uselessly on my comp at home) about four months ago, and I just went through a VERY strong authoress transformation of sorts in August, right before my sixteenth B-Day, so I know that it's not my best. Also, I know that I spelt some of the names wrong, including Ulrich and Aelita, and I'm sorry but, because I'm uploading these chapter at the library, I don't really have the ability to change them all. Just try and overlook them if you can, okay?

---

Odd was a little upset that Sam hadn't arrived like she had said to talk to him about... Whatever it was she had been so wanting to say that afternoon when he arrived for lunch. It was bad enough that they had been giving out a sad excuse for pizza as the meal that day but when she had walked in and then back OUT the cafeteria doors like she had... Well, it was just not something Odd had been counting on. It was only that Sam was someone he could look forward to seeing everyday, and mostly in the lunch room.

"Hey, guys? I'm going outside for a bit, clear the music from my head." Odd gave him that humorous expression he only gave when he was kidding around but Ulriche and Jeremy were too busy to really acknowledge it as they were in the middle of completing their own personal tasks.

Jeremy was still trying to complete SOME type of program to get Aealita out of Lyoko, even if only temporarily and Ulriche seemed to have gained a habit of repeatedly picking up and putting down his cell phone. There was a mad suspicion running around Odd's head that he was just itching to call Yumi and ask her to the dance but he had decided that, for once, he wouldn't comment. Romantic affairs weren't something to meddle with, especially when messing with a guy who could easily kick a ball straight through your skull.

Odd left the cafeteria and burst through the main doors. Spotting Sam sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree, he advanced on her and took a seat, leaning back far too casually for what seemed to be such a serious situation.

"You know, I thought that the invitation to talk to me during lunch was actually going to be used as an invitation to talk to me during lunch." He said, noting that her eyes were darting almost everywhere but at him.

"Yeah; you see, there's something about that." She said and then muttered something incoherent and he noticed her tense up against the wooden base of her seat, "I guess that it's just too true then." She finished.

"Excuse me?" Odd was good at making sense out of a lot of impossible things but her last comment had certainly not been enough to go on.

"I wanted to ask you something but, if you're really that smart, you should be able to figure it out without me saying anything." Sam replied. Odd was confused; not exactly a hard thing for him but it had never been that easy for it to happen either.

"Um... Are you trying to--" He was interrupted by her thrusting a piece of paper into his arms. He held it up and looked at it. It was a poorly made poster, and it was espousing the dance, "And I'm supposed to gather what from this?"

"Ugh... Boys... Please, Odd. Just understand so I don't have to come out straight forward. It's too hard for me to ask you to be my date to the dance next week--" She immediately cupped a hand to her mouth and let out a soft gasp. It seemed that she'd crossed over some line that she had sworn to herself not to cross.

Odd was grinning. Not that humorous grin he gave his inner-close friends and not his victorious grin he gave after saving Aealita and defeating a whole flock of XANA's monsters. It was what some could actually refer to as... Bashful.

"I had planned on asking you as soon as I found out about it." She told him, "But, somehow, you were suddenly a LOT harder to talk to and I couldn't bring myself to ask you up front. And when your friends were right there, it seemed even harder. I kept on thinking of them all laughing at me, and then YOU laughing at me. You know that I'm not usually like this; I just guess that I really, really like you and--" Her rambling was put to a stop as Odd placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If you had wanted to ask me, what makes you think I would have turned you down? I mean, I'm good looking and popular but I'm your friend and if you wanted to take it a step further and ask me out, you shouldn't feel so ashamed to do so. I'm not going to turn you down; sure I'll go with you, Sam."

---

Okay, he was picking up the phone... And he was putting down the phone. No, wait; he was picking up the phone again... And he was putting down the phone again.

It was later that night, almost ten. Ulriche was sitting on his bed, staring at Yumi's speed dial number glaring back at him in neon blue highlighter on his caller ID. Odd was in bed, playing with Kiwi and trying very hard to ignore his roommates movements but, pretty soon, they were growing too annoying to do so.

"If you wanna call her and ask her, then do it. There's no point in wasting your valuable time." Odd said to him, getting off of his own bed and coming to stand right in front of him.

"It's not as easy as it was for you. You didn't make the first stand." Ulriche replied to him, staring still fixedly at his phone.

"Yeah but if you don't make a move soon, you both are going to be upset that you didn't take the chance when you were able."

"I'm going to buy you a very large bag of sugar. It's just way too strange to hear you making sense of things without your daily recommendation of calories." Ulriche ignored anything else that may have been said. That was, until Odd made a choice snatch and stole his cell phone, "Hey! What are you--" Ulriche wasn't daring to believe it, but...

...Yes; Odd had just pressed 'enter' and was ringing Yumi's house.

"Hey, Yumi? Ulriche has something that he'd like to ask you." Odd stated gleefully. Ulriche heard someone talking from the other line, which ruled out his very thin hopes that his friend had only PRETENDED to dial her number, "Here ya go, buddy!" And Odd tossed his cell back into his arms and lay down with Kiwi on his stomach.

After a quick glare, Ulriche had no choice but to say something into the line, "Uh... Yumi?"

"Oh, hi Ulriche. I heard there was something you had to say--?" Yes, it was definitely her voice. And it sounded almost hopeful.

"Um... Yeah; I was going to ask you if..." He broke off and bit his lip. Oh, yeah, he was cowering out, "If Mrs. Hearse gave you any homework?" He let out a silent sigh and waited for Yumi to reply.

First there was nothing, until, "...Why would it matter? We're not in the same class anyway so it's not like our assignments would be the same." Yeah, well, it was the only thing he could come up with!

"Oh, um, really? I've never actually noticed..." It was a sheepish statement, and probably the most stupid thing he'd ever said to her.

"It's been a full year and you've never noticed or memorized what classes we have in common and which ones we don't?" Her tone was pretty skeptical now, "Ah, listen Ulriche, if that's all, I've really got to be going. For the record, Mrs. Hearse DID give me homework and you've just reminded me that it's still left to be done. So I'll be seeing you tomorrow--"

"--No!" He said, a sudden bout of strength overcoming him, "I-I mean, you know... Um, yeah. Goodnight Yumi." And then it had failed him yet again. He hung up before she'd even gotten the chance to reply again and felt his dead weight fall hopelessly onto his bed.

He was such an--

"Idiot." Odd laughed, "Now all you've got left is Sissi!" That made Ulriche's eyes, which he'd closed to try and relieve some of his new stress, open wide again.

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that Yumi's most likely going to the dance with Theo." This comment didn't strike well with the russet-haired soccer player, "What; didn't you know? He asked her in their Foreign Literature class the day after the news of the whole thing got out."

No, he hadn't known and no one had bothered to tell him either.

"I think she was waiting to see if you made a move first, before she accepted any other offers. But now..." Ulriche shut him out. There was nothing else for it. It was too late now but he would have to talk to Yumi tomorrow and force The Question out of his mouth no matter how much it took.

---

"Jeremy, you're exhausted. Go to bed and get some sleep, please?" Aealita's sweet voice made him jump from another reverie. He'd been doing a lot of that lately, dreaming about things, mostly her, and then dozing off in front of his computer, only to be awoken about five minutes later by her voice trying to coax him from his position.

"I'm sorry Aealita, again." He shook his head as he said this, "But I can't afford to spend any extra time sleeping. Not when I have so much to work on, including your Materialization Program." Truth be told, her MP was the ONLY thing he had to work on, and she seemed to know that.

"I'm sorry Jeremy. I know that this is putting a lot of pressure on you, and I know that I may be becoming a nuisance." She was upset. Oh, no... She was upset! He'd saddened her, "I wish there was something I could do for you--"

"--You don't need to return any favors Aealita. I'm doing this because I want to. I would never spend this much time on anything if I wasn't putting my heart into it. I really want you to be able to experience Earth-life for longer than a day. You deserve it with as much trouble as you've been put through in Lyoko. And, if anything else, this would be MY way of paying YOU back." He was turning red again; of all the rotten times...

"Why?"

"Aealita, not only have you given me someone to count on, but you've become a real special part of my life, and..." He broke off and yawned. Had his vision still been clear, he would have realized that Aealita was looking slightly embarrassed at where the conversation was turning, and highly touched, "And, I wish there was only more that I could do for you..." He said.

It was then that his eyes widened.

He finally knew what to do! Even if it were only to last for a day... Even if for only a night...

"Jeremy? Are you okay? Do you have something in mind? Did you figure something out?"

Oh yes, he certainly had.

He was going to give Aealita her one chance to play Cinderella.

---

A/N: I know that it was short but... I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't care where this fic is taken anymore. I've completely destroyed the characters AND the plot and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. I swear, I need to be locked away from the world of fan fiction for the rest of my life. I should deserve to write like this if it messes up this badly. Chibi needs LOTS of help...

PS: Please review for me. I love hearing comments and yours are what count the most!

((Points to each single reviewer in turn))

Thanks to Anzu/Teafan and Webmistress Ulrich for their former commentation!

Chibi is ending transmission.


	3. Chapter Three

Code: Lyoko

Pass the Ball

By: Chibi

Disclaimer: Chibi does not own the characters of Code: Lyoko. Though she is unsure of the people who DO, she's positive that it isn't her.

Summary: As an end-of-term fever buzzes around every student, the Principal, pressured by Sissi, agrees to throw a sware in honor of the students who would be graduating that year and all of their accomplishments. Everyone has their eyes set on someone but complicated measurements may keep them from going with who they want to go with. These measurements in turn lead to some of the most crazy matchmaking mix-ups possible. More of a social fic than a XANA-attacks-Earth-and-almost-kills-off-an-important-character fic.

Warning: Includes Yumi/Ulriche, Odd/Sam, and possibly Jeremy/Aealita. Also a good amount of Sissi-scheming.

---

"...Jeremy..? Jeremy? Jeremy!" The shouts of Aealita's voice brought him to his senses and the gangling, blonde boy jumped in his seat and found himself staring into the familiar face of his data-leagued friend from behind the screen, "You fell asleep at the terminal again." She said it as though she were taking notes.

"I'm sorry, Aealita." Jeremy stated, his apology turning into a muffled yawn as he removed his glasses to rub the sleep from his eyes, "There's just been so much going on at school. I can't help but want to finish your materialization program while I have the chance before..." He broke off. He was still wondering how he would be able to tell Aealita that she would have to spend a whole two months alone while the students went home for the summer holidays.

"Before..?" She asked, curious.

"Before... Before XANA finds some way to ultimately infect your data stream and... And trap you inside of Lyoko." Jeremy replied as evenly as he could, not very happy about having to lie to her.

"Oh, yes." Aealita felt that something wasn't right with his answer but she didn't say anything. Three days ago Jeremy had stumbled into his single dorm room and requested that she send him a dispatch of her entire data format. After she'd done so, she was never given a reason as to why he wanted it so suddenly.

Jeremy had been trying for almost nine months now to figure out a way to bring Aealita to the real world but every time his programs had either been ineffective or, in case of his first victory, been flawed by XANA. So instead, he had tried to download her data format onto a disk in order to continue his research at home rather than wait until next term. He was becoming slightly panicked at the thought of leaving her by herself in Lyoko for all that time on her own.

"Hey, Aealita..?" Jeremy murmured in question, almost forgetting that she was actually there to answer him.

"Yes, Jeremy?"

"Oh! Uh..." He turned red. The sudden thought of having her as his partner, or as some would call it--date, to the dance had sent him into a reverie, "What would you say to a visit from a few friends?" He wanted to give her as much spare time with them as possible before they had to go.

Aealita looked back through the computer screen, and their com link, noting Jeremy's small, almost pitifully sad, smile, "Sure." She nodded and then shut off her Direct Connection while Jeremy woke up the other members of the Lyoko team and ordered them down to The Factory.

---

"This had better have something to do with XANA, Jeremy... Like maybe he's slaughtered half of the school..." Odd stated as he yawned (A/N: God, that looks so cute in my mind...) and stepped up to the teenage boy sitting in front of the Super Computer.

Yumi and Ulriche were barely holding up themselves and were obviously a little more than angry when Jeremy began to explain the seemingly unjustifiable reason for waking them at eight in the morning on a Saturday.

"Aealita needs to see us all as much as possible. When we leave in a couple of weeks, she's going to be the only one on the school grounds without a place to go. And XANA isn't helping with his infectious viruses. I haven't been able to complete another flawless Materialization Program for her and, unless I do by the end of next week, she'll have nothing to look forward to until September." At the thought of their friend staying alone on the school premises for two whole months, the three of them looked slightly less 'violent', "I've been trying for the past few days to copy her data format onto a disk and transfer it to my laptop but, so far, nothing. It'll be even worse off for her if she's stuck in Lyoko while we're gone, her only company being XANA and his little monster friends."

"Fine then, Einstein." Odd stated with a grin, "Load us up and send us in. Keep in contact, just in case XANA wants to send us a physical interpretation of his holiday salutations."

"Right; now head to the scanners, okay?" Jeremy replied, turning back to the Super Computer in his chair and watching the three avatars come up on the screen, "I'm starting the process... Transfer, Odd... Transfer, Yumi... Transfer, Ulriche... Scanner, Odd... Scanner, Yumi... Scanner, Ulriche... Virtualization!"

The three appeared in their usual Lyoko attire and waited for Aealita to appear.

"Hey, Jeremy... What are we supposed to do while we're here?" Ulriche stated, "I mean... I'm up for a trip to Lyoko as much as the rest of them but we've never actually come here without a reason."

There was a slight giggle behind them and Aealita, who was hiding behind a boulder to be absolutely certain that it was them and not a trick of XANA's, stepped out from behind it and beckoned them forward.

"In all of the time you've visited, you've been too busy fighting off XANA to actually _see _Lyoko." She placed emphasis on the verb, "So how about a tour?" She asked kindly, and the group followed after her as she headed for the Forest Region.

---

"Hey, Princess..." Odd stated as they entered the Desert Region almost an hour later, "If you know so much about everything in Lyoko, how come you aren't getting yourself out of it?" Aealita had stopped for a moment and silence was instilled before Yumi and Ulriche gave Odd a slight shove and they moved on as if nothing had been said.

Suddenly Aealita spoke, "Well... For one, I don't know nearly enough to remove myself from the program. And two... I suppose you could call it a fear of what's outside." They stared at her and she blushed before continuing, "Thinking about it, Lyoko has been my home since I was... Born. To be taken and given a new one, just like that; it would frighten anyone." She sighed, "I know that my experiences on Earth were positive ones last time, (you know, besides the XANA attack), but that didn't make the dangers any less evident. I hear your news reports going on everyday about hostage situations, murders, war... It's just a little overwhelming." She looked at them, "And I don't know if I'd be able to take it."

"But, Aealita, you're able to handle a lot of things, and you know that we'd always be there to help you when or if you need it." Yumi attempted to coax her, acting like quite the sister figure, "Jeremy only wants to do this to help you. Before, you sounded so excited about it, and there's nothing like living on Earth accept actually experiencing it." She smiled widely as they walked onward.

"In a way, you know, without XANA attacking us, Lyoko is really nice." Ulriche commented as he let an artificial breeze whip the loose end of his hair band behind his head.

"Yeah." Yumi commented, kneeling down beside a couple of flowers and shocking herself when actually picking up a scent, "It's so beautiful; you almost forget everything is only a mess of data... It's like it's all real." She smiled as if she were joking.

"In a way, though most won't believe it, Lyoko is. It's a world outside of our dimension." Jeremy commented through their Direct Connection, "And therefore isn't considered that way, like most other worlds that aren't able to be seen through a telescope. You look at it this way; Lyoko has a sun, a moon, stars, plants, different forms of land, and life." He added graciously and Aealita smiled, "It would be an insult to call it fake, just because we can't chart it on a space map."

"I know what you mean." Ulriche commented. He walked over to Yumi and attempted to pluck one of the flowers in order to inspect it, "I mean, all of our senses work here as if we were still on Earth." He held the small daisy in his hand and then turned to Yumi, "Everything here is just as real as we are." He smiled at her and handed her the plant, "I'm thankful that we can have this 'resort' to escape from Earth to, even if it is just to battle XANA."

Yumi took the flower without a word, blushing, too busy trying to find words to think of anything else. That was, until...

"Jeremy, it's nearly one in the afternoon. Don't you think you should bring these three back and let them eat some lunch?" Aealita asked considerately.

"Good idea, Aealita. And if XANA tries anything while we're gone, be sure that--" Jeremy was interrupted.

"--I let you know; I've got it." Aealita grinned, "I've grown to know you far too well."

Jeremy blushed scarlet and started tapping the keys of the Super Computer again, "You three all ready to come back? I'm not using the Time Reversal program so this may be a little more jumpy than that..." He pressed the 'enter' key and watched as the Lyoko team avatars were sent back to their 'save' file and heard The Factory doors open to reveal all of the members safe and sound.

"Let's head to the cafeteria. I was having such a ball in Lyoko, I didn't even realize that I was hungry." Odd stated, holding his stomach as it growled.

"Impossible." Ulriche stated, and they all headed up to the ground floor of The Factory together with a goodbye from Aealita, and then out the front door towards Kadek Academy

---.

Just as they were entering said eatery, Ulriche grimaced at the sound of a screechy, high-pitched voice.

"Ulriche dear!" Sissi started heading in their direction in order to confront him, yet again, about her invitation to be her date to the dance. Ulriche, not wanting to see another bout between Yumi and her, like the one a couple days before, decided to evade the entire situation.

"Run." He stated and jogged swiftly back out the doors before anyone could interrupt. The others followed him.

That day, the four of them ate lunch AND dinner at Yumi's house. (Hey, she's a day student; she can't live THAT far away!)

While they were finishing up their meal, Ulriche, looking slightly edgy, as though worried that he might be overheard, walked up behind Jeremy, took him by the shoulders, and steered him from the room.

"What's up with you, Ulriche?" Jeremy stated, once he'd shaken the taller boy off, "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, sorta..." He smiled nervously before patting his friend on the back, "But, dear Buddy, it's nothing that a simple trip to the past wouldn't cure." Jeremy was about to object before Ulriche continued, "You see, I tried to ask Yumi to the, er... To that thing happening next week, but I kinda... I kinda messed up and I know that that Theo guy all ready asked her to go with him as thanks for showing him around when he was new." He sighed, "She probably all ready accepted his offer and so I need to go back to the past, just far back enough so that I can actually ask her before she makes any plans with Him. You get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, Ulriche, I do, but... I'm sorry but we both know that the 'Time Reversal' program was only built to be used in the event of a XANA attack on Earth in order to clear up any damage on innocent people. We're not able to use it on things like the troubles in our romantic lives--" Ulriche hurriedly placed his hand over the boy's mouth to muffle his sentence and prevent Odd or Yumi from hearing him.

"--Please, Jeremy, can't you work something out? ...You're a genius, after all; remember..?" Ulriche asked, all ready sounding hopeless.

"Look, I'm sorry that you made a mistake and all but... Ulriche, you're gonna have to fix it on your own."

---

A/N: I know, I know... This chapter had absolutely nothing to do with the actual plot until the end, which was still pretty pointless. I just had to put a little something about Lyoko and Aealita since there is a slight conflict about how she'll 'survive' in Lyoko while the group is gone for summer vacation. I just couldn't help but add a bit of Lyoko terms and drama into it. I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!

PS: Please review and tell me what you think of it so far.

Chibi ending transmission.


	4. Chapter Four

Code: Lyoko  
  
Pass the Ball  
  
By: Chibi  
  
Disclaimer: Chibi does not own the characters of Code: Lyoko. Though she is unsure of the people who DO, she's positive that it isn't her.  
  
Summary: As an end-of-term fever buzzes around every student, the Principal, pressured by Sissi, agrees to throw a 'ball' of sorts, in honor of the students who would be graduating that year and all of their accomplishments. Everyone has their eyes set on someone but complicated measurements may keep them from going with who they want to go with. These measurements in turn lead to some of the most crazy matchmaking mix-ups possible. More of a social fic than a XANA-attacks-Earth-and-almost-kills-off-an-important-character fic.  
  
Warning: Includes Yumi/Ulriche, Odd/Sam, and possibly Jeremy/Aealita. Also a good amount of Sissi-scheming.  
  
---

**Chapter Four**

---  
  
"Please Jeremy?" Ulriche asked his friend (AGAIN) the next day as the two were heading out to meet Yumi at the bench, "Just this once; I swear I'll never ask again but this time it's really important that I get a second chance."  
  
"Forget it, Ulriche. I told you yesteryday; and you know just as well as I do that the 'Time Reversal' program can only be used after a XANA attack and do YOU see any XANA activity around here? No? I didn't think so." Jeremy sighed. He'd gotten about two hours of sleep this morning before Ulriche had rampaged into his room, begging to use the Super Computer to return to the past for some reason, "What's so important that you'd need to go back this badly anyway?"  
  
Ulriche turned scarlet and muttered something but Jeremy couldn't make it out. Odd had gone to hang with Sam that morning before seeing her off to class and the two of them were heading towards their usual meeting place to meet up with Yumi. Ulriche was finally about to answer when his eyes widened and then formed a slightly obvious glare over towards the maple trees.  
  
There was Yumi... And Theo.  
  
"Well, you can't blame her for wanting to interact with her friends. I'm sure that they're just discussing homework or something." Jeremy stated. At that point in time, the two in question broke up and Theo headed in their direction. He smiled at the two and there was something about it that Ulriche gathered was along the lines of victory.  
  
"Yeah; I'm sure that it's nothing." He stated dejectedly. Yumi waved them over and they joined her for their usual morning chat, "So, what was that about?"  
  
"What was what about?" She asked, plainly confused.  
  
"Well, you know, you and Theo, hanging out together. That's not normal, is it?" Okay, he was jealous, he admitted that. But did Yumi have to be so obvious when trying to deny him the information he wanted?  
  
"Normal? I wouldn't exactly dub it as normal or abnormal. We were just talking about the dance. He asked me a few days back and I told him that I'd get back with him today." She turned slightly pink and Ulriche knew that what she said next wasn't going to be good, "I told him yes, and that I'd meet him there at eight."  
  
It pained Ulriche to see her looking even the slightest bit excited about going to the dance with someone else, let alone HIM. Theo's former attraction to Sissi, which had been diverted by Odd into an attraction to Yumi, had always stuck with her ever since his arrival. It had always been pretty obvious and, Ulriche had thought, one-sided. However that didn't seem to be the case anymore. Jeremy caught sight of him flexing his fists, but he hid them from Yumi so she didn't notice.  
  
"That's great Yumi." Jeremy stated, catching Ulriche's eye and silently warning him not to say anything stupid. He'd never known that that ship had sailed the night before or that it was about to make a round-a-bout trip, "I'm sure that you two will enjoy yourselves." Ulriche was seething... And he knew that if he didn't get out of here soon, he was going to let every ounce of self-injury he'd committed on himself in the last week to be taken out on her.  
  
Unfortunately, just as he made a move to leave and find somewhere to let off his steam, he caught sight of Sissi bounding from the dorm doors and in his direction just like she did every morning. And that was when everything started to go wrong.  
  
"Ulriche, darling! I was hoping that you'd still be here! I was running a little late this morning; I hope that you forgive me!" She sounded as though it wouldn't matter what his answer was and jumped on him right there, "I was hoping that you'd finally decided what you were going to do about the dance, who you were going to go with. I hear that Yumi here--," At this moment she glanced almost repulsively at her, "--all ready has a date so I suppose that that's out of the question." Ulriche was about ready to tell her that it had never been in the question in the first place when she continued once again, "Well, as they say, good things come to those who wait, and I suppose that you have waited long enough to be rid of her--" He didn't know what had happened but he had finally exploded.  
  
Snapping furiously, he ripped off her hold on his arm and started on her, "My friends have been telling me that I shouldn't be letting you try and get the better of me when I'm in the middle of something and I've finally chosen to agree with them. Sissi, I don't like you that way, or haven't you been able to tell? I could never really like you when all you do is talk about how high-and-mighty you are and hurt people who have tried to be nothing but nice and friendly to you. I don't want to see you right now so just... Get outta here!" Looking mortally wounded, she nodded, completely silent for once, and stumbled off in the direction of the cafeteria.  
  
But Ulriche wasn't finished yet; his attitude was still in the process of a brewing flame and, not seeing anyone else to turn on, he looked straight at Yumi and began talking. He wasn't as loud with her but, with his voice sounding like a merciless mutter of inquiry, it was just as bad, if not worse, "Is he so wonderful to hang out with that you'd better enjoy going together to the dance with him, rather than someone you've known for as long as-as long as you've known me? I can't believe you Yumi; how could you let yourself do this?"  
  
"Hey, wait a minute! One, why are you getting on my case just because a FRIEND of mine asked me out and, two, why does it even matter to you?" Yumi didn't want to get into it this early in the morning but things were all ready getting blown out of proportion.  
  
Matter? Of course it mattered! And he'd thought that she'd known that after that one time in Lyoko when they'd almost... After hearing her ask him why he should care, he finally realized just how close he was coming to admitting something to her that he wasn't even fully aware of yet himself.  
  
"I... Nothing Yumi, it's too late for me to worry about it anyway." And he turned, picked up his bag, and without even acknowledging Jeremy, headed towards his dorm room. He didn't even seem to care that he had classes starting in ten minutes.  
  
Jeremy turned to look at Yumi, who stared back then stood as well, gathered up her things, and said, "What? Why should I have to wait for him to figure it out if it's going to take him forever? I can't be waiting that long if he doesn't want to admit anything." And she started walking in the completely opposite direction.  
  
Jeremy stayed silent, standing alone for once in the middle of the school courtyard.  
  
---

It was amazing how many things you could mess up when you weren't even aware of what you were doing with yourself, as Ulriche soon found out later that day at lunch. Yumi had ignored him as best she could, catching his eye only once before glaring and turning back to the book she had been reading at that time.  
  
As for him, he didn't even remember most of what he'd said to her, or Sissi for that matter. She didn't seem to be as fazed as Yumi had, her "I'm queen and can win anything I want" attitude overcoming his obvious words of hate. He'd spent a good two hours in his dorm room, listening to nothing but a rogue cricket that had probably gotten through the window when Odd had forgotten to shut it the night before, missing two classes as well. The absolute silence around that was eminent... And sickening. He swore that it was mocking him everytime he tried to think about how badly he'd just messed up.  
  
What's more was that Jim(BO) had dismissed him from two soccer practices because of his playing hookey, and right before the championships. He supposed that it wasn't all bad, as he sat watching his team members run around the soccer field, giving him reproachful glances and carrying the weight of a five pound (lb.) bag of sand on each of their backs. Not that it meant anything but Jim(BO) had referred to this new training regime as: 'RAOF'; Rounding abs over flab.  
  
Why should he have let this bother him? It wasn't like this hadn't helped any. Now he knew exactly where he stood in his relationship with Yumi: A friend and nothing more or less. He should feel appreciative that the whole mess had been cleared up. If he'd kept trying so many times to draw out a new relationship from her, she might have gotten even more annoyed and decided to quit interacting with him as his friend all together.  
  
He wasn't bothering to pay attention to the world anymore. He felt like he'd just lost a very important part of his life to one of his peers. It was one of those moments when someone in 'love' would take the time to consider another's happiness over their own and, Ulriche believed, that with Yumi's decision, she had been made as happy as was possible.  
  
But he chose to refuse that the facts pointed in another direction entirely. She would stop showing up to wait in the morning, not that he had really wanted to see her at that time everyday. She had stopped going to lunch at the school, choosing to make her house her sort of private sanctuary. She had even started spending all of her extra time away from the Lyoko group. Now she was hanging out with that Theo; actually, he'd highlighted THAT point pretty well.  
  
"I need to stop feeling sorry for myself." He whispered, getting up from the bench beside the soccer field and heading back inside the second dorm building. He just wanted to get away from everything and the only place to do that would be his room.  
  
That was when his cell phone began ringing.  
  
"Ulriche, I need you down at The Factory, pronto. It's important, okay? So hurry up." Jeremy's voice sounded urgent.  
  
"What, Jeremy? Is it XANA again? What's he up to?" He asked.  
  
"There's no time to explain, all right? It's got nothing to do with XANA but I still need your help, so could you stop asking questions about it and actually get down here? Odd's all ready waiting and Yumi's on her way as well." Ulriche was silent. Yumi? The one person he'd been wanting to avoid and now he was going to be forced to see her again all ready?  
  
"Fine Jeremy... I'll be down there in a few." He hung up.  
  
Jeremy, down in The Factory at that point, let out a breath of air. He'd finally managed something the night before and he was going to use it to get Aealita out of Lyoko for about three days. It was a certain digital medicine for the virus that XANA had infected her with. As most would know, viruses, unlike bacterial illnesses, couldn't be destroyed by medicine, they could only be pressured into a coma of sorts. Using that knowledge of medicinal remedies, he'd constructed a program that would enable Aealita to temporarily overcome that viral infection and live on Earth for a maximum of three days, meaning until the day AFTER the dance.  
  
He would pull her out the day before it and... And then he'd ask her to...  
  
He shook his head as he acknowledged the slightly red tint appearing on his cheeks.  
  
This wasn't the time to be blushing about spending personal time with Aealita. Believe it or not, he was taking every bit of time spent with her to heart these days and he wanted to end it off with a finale for the gallery books this time around. He was only hoping that she would agree to It when he asked her.  
  
And there was actually something else that he'd been wanting to say to Ulriche and Yumi in particular.  
  
---

"Glad that you could all make it." Jeremy stated, watching as Ulriche and Yumi stood on opposite walls, never once looking in the others direction. Odd was the moderate, standing in the center and waiting for whatever he had to say. The other two seemed to be attempting to ignore the entire world and, purpose serving, they were doing an excellent job at it, "I wanted to talk about tomorrow." Tomorrow; the day before the dance, the day he would ask Aealita, the day that he would bring her back to Earth, if only temporarily.  
  
"What about it?" Ulriche asked coldly, still focusing his eyes on Jeremy and nowhere else.  
  
"Well, the dance is the day after, for one thing... Yumi," He turned to her, "I have a favor to ask you." She looked up at him as well and waited for him to continue. Ulriche's eyes glimmered with something but, a moment later, any evidence that he'd made a reaction had gone, "I've planned on bringing Aealita back for the dance and I was hoping that she could spend a couple days with you."  
  
"For the dance?" She asked, and she actually smiled, "Good for you Jeremy; I see that you're finally going to do something about the way you feel for her. Well, sure, I'm behind you one hundred percent and I'm positive that my parents wouldn't mind having her as company since she was so polite when they met her last time."  
  
"Good, now I also wanted to talk to you two--" He was cut off by Ulriche, who, for one, didn't want to hear anything having to do with the mistakes he'd obviously made.  
  
"Forget it Jeremy, there's no way I'm going to listen to your trying to get us to talk again. I realize that we may be affecting your friendship with us but there's no way to stop the process of friends breaking apart." This caught Yumi's attention and she looked at him for an explanation.  
  
"Excuse me? Are you telling me that you don't even want to be my friend anymore? It's just a date to the dance! It's nothing serious! Or does this go much deeper than that? At least tell me why you seem to hate me just because I accepted to go out with the only person who asked me." She stressed the last few words of her sentence.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow Jeremy; Odd." He nodded to them and walked out.  
  
Jeremy sighed and collapsed into his chair. Odd walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.  
  
"There, there, Lover Boy. Let's just let the newly-weds settle things on their own." (A/N: Yumi was still there but she felt incapable of commenting about his choice of words.), "Besides, you have to get ready for your, dare I say it, big date with Aealita!" He laughed as Jeremy turned red and followed the boisterous boy from their secret hideway and only connection to Lyoko.  
  
Yumi followed, looking very upset for an obvious reason.

---  
  
A/N: Yes, I know. That was horrible. I was trying to keep them in character but, to bring out the plot I want to use them for, I had to do this. Don't worry, I've finally gotten the whole plot written down on an imaginary notepad in my head. Everything's ready to put down and I can promise you that Ulriche/Yumi lovers, ESPECIALLY, will love it. Of course, Odd/Sam and Jeremy/Aealita lovers are probably well on their way by now...  
  
Heh.  
  
Chibi ending transmission.


	5. Chapter Five

Code: Lyoko

Pass the Ball

By: Chibi

Notes: Er... I'm SORRY for leaving you hanging for so long, everybody. I know I could be doing better and everything, especially since the fic is all ready FINISHED on my comp, but... Well... I totally forgot that I'd even started posting this on FFN! And then, I was looking at the number of reviews I'd gotten for certain fics on my bio and I saw it sitting there and I was like, "Oh, no..."

But I'm back! At least you won't have to doubt me so much anymore!

Disclaimer: Chibi does not own the characters of Code: Lyoko. Though she is unsure of the people who DO, she's positive that it isn't her.

Summary: As an end-of-term fever buzzes around every student, the Principal, pressured by Sissi, agrees to throw a party/ball in honor of the students who would be graduating that year and all of their accomplishments. Everyone has their eyes set on someone but complicated measurements may keep them from going with who they want to go with. These measurements in turn lead to some of the most crazy matchmaking mix-ups possible. More of a social fic than a XANA-attacks-Earth-and-almost-kills-off-an-important-character fic.

Warning: Includes Yumi/Ulrich, Odd/Sam, and possibly Jeremy/Aelita. Also a good amount of Sissi-scheming.

---

**Chapter Five**

---

"So, you see, Aelita? I... Just thought that you might enjoy this get together the school is putting on. After all, if only for a little while, you were a student." Jeremy told her as he sat alone in The Factory trying to console her into accepting his offer, "I'm not pressuring you into it, I hope. It's just, I can promise that you'll have a good time there, and..." Okay, he'd lost it. He had been about one millisecond from finally asking her to come with him but... Then there was nothing.

"Well, Jeremy, if you think that I'll honestly enjoy myself then I don't see any reason why I can't trust you. I'm to stay with Yumi?" He nodded in reply, too flabbergasted that she'd really agreed to answer with words, "What do we do at this... Dance?" The word was almost foreign to her, at least, when referred to as a noun and not a verb in her vocabulary.

"It's mostly a place to hang out with your friends, a party; there's music, and food (a LOT better food than what they try to give you at the cafeteria, if I know Sissi), and all of the chairs and tables are pushed against the wall so that students can get on the floor and dance with one another." He wanted to make the topic clear. He was startled out of his explanation when he heard Aelita giggling.

"Then I'd be happy to go, Jeremy. What better place to talk and 'hang out' with you?" Okay, was that insinuating something there? "There's only... Well... Who am I to dance with?" He somehow had the suspicion that she'd forced that question on him but, next moment, had completely shaken off that thought.

"Well, see, a lot of the students will be going with what most call a date." At the look of a curiously confused expression from Aelita, he continued, "A date is someone you ask specifically to go with you and you spend the night with them. Actually..." He withdrew a shaky breath; he'd never been able to do this if his conscience wasn't telling him that there was a slim chance that she'd accept, "...I was hoping that you'd agree to be mine."

"You want me to go to the dance to be with you? To be your... date?" Her eyes were slightly wide in shock, as if she were having trouble digesting the information, "And then... What after that?" She was expecting a certain answer, he knew, and he was going to try his hardest to give her the right one.

"I... A date is usually a person you ask because you care about them... And that's why I'm asking you, Aelita, because I care about you and I really want you to enjoy yourself with me. I know that, under most accounts, I'm just the boy who oversees the battles between you, the others, and XANA and I'm not that active in them but... I just know that I can help you have a good time if you come with me." he knew that he was hardly a step away from begging but... Well, desperately so, he wanted her to realize that he wasn't just trying to remove her from her home and use her for a night.

"I never thought of you that way, Jeremy." Her tinkling voice made him look at her. She was smiling and, unless his eyes were deceiving him, blushing as well, "I think of you as a wonderful friend and, given the chance, I would gladly go to this dance with you. I accept; I hope that you don't mind, I'm a bit new at answering to these types of inquiries." Yes, her cheeks were definitely highlighted.

He graced her with a kind smile, "Thank you Aelita. You don't know how happy I am that you've really decided to go with me. I have to call Yumi to come pick you up and help you get ready but... I can't wait to be with you." Oh, now HE was blushing. That comment sounded way too revealing about his emotions towards her.

"Get ready?" It was almost like she'd not heard it; or was she choosing to ignore it?

"Oh, of course! I forgot; on normal accounts, these dances usually have the occupants wearing more... formal wear." He stated, "I don't think that you'd be able to enter the room with anything normal on; sorry. But I know that Yumi will be able to help you in that category. Just give me a moment..." He pulled out his ear piece and dialed Yumi's cell phone and, when she answered, gave her the 411, "...Yeah, I'm about to finish now. Do you think you could... Really? Okay, we'll be down in The Factory; just proceed down to the scanners." He hung up the line and saw Aelita smiling kindly at him, "What is it Aelita?"

"I... Just realized how thankful I am to have you there to count on, and to teach me and care for me." She was repeating the comment he'd said to her earlier that week. He smiled.

"Glad I could be of assistance."

---

"So, this is what you wear when going to a dance?" Aelita looked at the article of clothing in question. It was a simple peach colored dress, perfectly accenting her hair and eyes and fitting her well. It reached about down to her mid-calf and almost gave off the impression of a higher class woman. The skirt sort of 'fluttered' of its own accord, making it look like a wind was presently blowing past her when there was none.

The theme had been dubbed 'Ballet in the Plains', meaning that they had to dress accordingly; nothing too short, nothing too long, it had to be well-fitted and plain, yet dainty. Sissi had had to explain this about six times before everyone had understood her.

"More or less, yeah." Yumi smiled at her. She was so new to the world, like a baby who had finally opened its eyes for the first time, "You look very nice in it. I'm sure that Jeremy would think along the same lines." She placed a hand on Aelita's shoulder and looked at her, "So, do you want it?"

"Well, it's really nice looking, and if Jeremy would like it..." She never finished her sentence but nodded happily and looked back into the mirror. It really was nice; not too skimpy, not too complex, not too simple. As Goldilocks would have said, it fit just right.

"All right then. Let me just get my money and I'll head up to the counter and pay for it." Yumi took out a small wallet and began walking away before Aelita began to question her.

"Money? Pay..? What did you do? This would hardly be a time for these strangers to get revenge on you, no matter what!"

Yumi laughed, "No; you weren't told about the concept of money?" The peach haired Lyoko girl shook her head, "Money is used to pay for things; food, clothes, houses. It's sort of a trade but all things can be different prices." She held up the tag on the dress, which Aelita had been ignoring until that moment, "See? This costs $ 29.99 so that's how much I have to pay." She held up two twenty dollar bills, "These are types of money, and it's more than enough for that dress so that means we can afford it." She began walking away, "Now give me a moment. I need to talk to the cashier about something for me."

"Oh, but... wait!" Aelita called; now she felt embarrassed about making others care for her in more ways than one, "I don't want you to have to go through the trouble, Yumi! I-I can live without this! I'm sure that we can find something cheaper!"

"Well, considering other stores, that IS pretty cheap. Don't worry Aelita, you deserve to look this nice after everything you've gone through, finally getting this far. I'm more than happy to help you out when you need it. Besides, Jeremy donated a twenty dollar bill of his own so everything's fine."

Aelita smiled serenely at Yumi's back. Jeremy really did care about her... She had always wondered but now it seemed so obvious... She wondered what he would really think of her when she arrived with him. She really did want to please him; looks, grace, and skill. Come to think of it... She had never really given much thought into the dancing process. And now she would be expected to do something that she had no idea how to do.

"Um, Yumi..." She tugged on Yumi's shirt sleeve when she had reappeared, "I... I don't really know how to dance..."

"Don't worry. Not many people do; they just wing it."

"Wing it?"

"It means to just act spontaneous; move however you think the music wants you to and you'll be okay."

"I guess... All right."

---

"Now?"

Yumi patted her on the back and pushed her forward a bit, "Now." She agreed.

Aelita stepped forward into the room and looked around. Everything was sort of dark, and yet small lights were gleaming off of the walls, revolving around in circles. People were everywhere and, though there was hardly any chatter, the music was loud and so they didn't notice her. Which, considering, was what she had hoped for.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Yumi grinning softly at her.

"I think that the one you're looking for is over there." She pointed towards the left wall where, believe it or not, stood Jeremy, tied down in a suit and all. Aelita couldn't help but crack a smile. Compared to his usual attire, this Jeremy looked highly uncomfortable and definitely outstanding, in both senses of the word.

She nodded in thanks to Yumi and walked towards him, her mid-length skirt fluttering without a breeze; even on Earth she was able to walk with ease and grace... And she was thankful. She knew that this night meant a lot to Jeremy, as well as herself, and she didn't want to be the one to ruin it.

"Hi, Jeremy. Sorry that you had to wait." She said. He didn't even seem to see her. True, he was definitely looking AT her, but there was such an expression of awe on his face that he almost seemed to be looking right through her, or INTO her, if that was possible.

"Aelita; you look... You look..." Yes, words were very hard to find at that moment. Aelita, noticing that he was having trouble, spoke for him.

"You look very nice too, Jeremy." He smiled thankfully and let her lead him onto the dance floor, where they started to swing to the beat.

Aelita let out a breath of relief. She'd let the music guide her and, thankfully, Jeremy seemed to be guided the same way (little did she know that he was probably just letting her lead. Lol). They glided around a bit while the rest of a certain slow song finished and then, when a faster paced song came on, Aelita picked up her step. Jeremy followed.

(A/N: Yeah, they didn't even have time to be nervous about slow songs... Lol.)

Yumi, who was currently looking for Theo, managed to catch sight of Ulrich walking around the walls of the room. Sissi was hanging from him, literally, letting him drag her around as though it would improve his basic beliefs and feelings for her. The scene considerably upset Yumi and she turned, running straight into Theo.

"Oh, uh, there you are." She said as he helped her up.

"Yeah; I was waiting for you to come. I guess that you were just helping that friend of yours?" He nodded towards Aelita dancing with Jeremy. When Yumi gave him a questioning look, he said, "I saw you both walk in together so I just assumed it."

"Oh. Well..." She looked towards the floor and waited for some sort of sign. It was found when Theo held out his hand for her.

"Wanna dance?"

She nodded and smiled half-heartedly, risking a glance at the wandering Ulrich and Sissi, "Sure."

---

Okay, Ulrich was having what could have been, and probably was, the worst time ever. True, he was there, and he wasn't alone, but with Sissi as his date, clinging onto him as if he were a ship ready to sink, he might have been better off that way. He'd never really invited her to come along, just to straighten things out with any who might be having questions. He had walked in and she had sort of tugged him around. Then Yumi had come in and started over with that Theo and he had suddenly lost all urge to pry away from her.

And so he just walked lazily around and let Sissi hang onto him like she was. He just didn't have the heart to deal with it anymore.

He looked over and saw Yumi dancing energetically with Theo, also catching onto Herb and Nicolas standing alone along the 'Loser Wallflower' stand, presumably alone.

---

The Disk Jockey was making the whole thing a big blow-out. The music was picked from a great variety, at least, according to Odd, who was currently having the best night of his life, twisting himself and Sam wildly along the dance floor.

Yumi and Theo were working along the same lines, only neither were trying to shove all of the other students out of the main ground.

Ulrich and Sissi were standing at the Wallflower area, alongside Herb and Nick, both who were actually looking a bit happier when seeing that Sissi had been forced into the same position as them... That was until Sissi grabbed Ulrich's hand and, despite his commands to leave him alone "or else", whisked him into the center of the room, catching everyone's attention, including Yumi's, who had come to a stop mid-twirl.

And that was when it happened. The disco ball right above Sissi and Ulrich short-circuited, followed by the light bulbs crackling and the entire music board coming to a stop.

Sissi screeched in fear of the glass hitting her and, just as she was sure she was going to have to live her life with a huge piece of shattered glass and linoleum thrust into her perfect head, she was thrown out of the way and felt the weight of another body on top of her.

"Thank you so much Ulrich! I knew that you would save--" But, as she looked up, she saw, not Ulrich, but Herb, "YOU?! I-I mean, get off of me! Ulrich? Ulrich?!" She shoved him off of her and left him to search for her 'date', who seemed to have disappeared.

Actually, Odd, Yumi, Jeremy, and Aelita seemed to have vanished as well.

"I can't believe I just did that..." Herb stated, finally aware that he'd been blown off by his crush, just like always.

"Here." He looked up and saw Sissi, stiffly holding out her hand to help him up and refusing to meet his eyes, "Thank you." For one moment he had the thought that maybe things could actually make a positive turn for their... Er... Relationship, until, "Now help me find Ulrich! I want to be sure that he's okay!" She yelled at him after he was standing on his feet again.

Well, some things just never changed.

---

Meanwhile, outside, the group of five were running towards the pothole that would lead them back to their gateway into Lyoko.

"It's XANA! It's gotta be! I should have known that he couldn't stay silent for long!" Jeremy shouted as they all cluttered onto the underground latter as fast as possible without stepping on anyone's fingers or heads, and all of them took either a scooter or a skateboard and rolled down the tunnel.

---

A/N: (Chibi in sing-song voice) I'm gonna leave you there! I'm gonna leave you there! I bet that you all hate me! I bet that you all hate me! Yes, I know... I said that this would be a "social fic" and all that but... I told you that I had the whole plot finally figured out and this had to become a part of it for the whole thing to work. Sorry about that! But, this just adds to the excitement, and I know that Ulrich/Yumi fans are gonna love what I have planned for them next!

Okay, well I don't really have anything else to say so I'm just gonna leave it here for the rest of you to think about! PLEASE review for me so I know how I'm doing!

Chibi ending transmission.


	6. Chapter Six

Code: Lyoko

Pass the Ball

By: Chibi

Disclaimer: Chibi does not own the characters of Code: Lyoko. Though she is unsure of the people who DO, she's positive that it isn't her.

Summary: As an end-of-term fever buzzes around every student, the Principal, pressured by Sissi, agrees to throw a bash in honor of the students who would be graduating that year and all of their accomplishments. Everyone has their eyes set on someone but complicated measurements may keep them from going with who they want to go with. These measurements in turn lead to some of the most crazy matchmaking mix-ups possible. More of a social fic than a XANA-attacks-Earth-and-almost-kills-off-an-important-character fic.

Warning: Includes Yumi/Ulrich, Odd/Sam, and possibly Jeremie/Aelita. Also a good amount of Sissi-scheming.

---

**Chapter Six**

---

Meanwhile, outside, the group of five were running towards the pothole that would lead them back to their gateway into Lyoko.

"It's XANA! It's gotta be! I should have known that he couldn't be silent for long!" Jeremie shouted as they all cluttered onto the underground latter as fast as possible without stepping on anyone's fingers or heads, and all of them took either a scooter or a skateboard and rolled down the tunnel.

"Hurry to the scanners!" Jeremie continued, "You too, Aelita; I'm sorry but we'll have to leave our night here for now." He added less enthusiastically.

Aelita sighed, "I really enjoyed my time with you tonight Jeremie. If we can, I'd like... I'd like to do it again."

Jeremie grinned, "If everything works well in Lyoko, we may just be able to do that." They nodded to one another and she left, running after the others and grabbing the scanner with Yumi (because there's only three) before the door closed and began to morph them into their Lyoko avatars, "Scanner Yumi... Scanner Aelita... Scanner Odd... Scanner Ulrich... Transfer Yumi... Transfer Aelita... Transfer Odd... Transfer Ulrich... Virtualization!" He shouted.

The entire Lyoko group was re-stabilized in the Plains Region.

"Okay, Jeremie, it worked." Aelita said through their Direct Connection.

"Any pulsations Aelita?" He asked as he typed furiously on the Super Computer to load the Lyoko members' Life Point graphs.

"Yes; to the North." She replied. They heard nothing but silence as Jeremie looked into the mapped area.

"Right, they're towards the Polar Region. I say head there now and be on your guard. I'll warn you if I see any of XANA's creatures running up to you." The others nodded to heed his warning and Ulrich and Yumi pulled out their swords and fan while Odd readied his arrows, "...Be careful; there are a couple of Crabs coming up on your left." Jeremie stated and Odd leapt forward to take the offensive incentive.

"Gotcha!" He shouted and struck one of them immediately with his arrow. The other made to attack him but was viciously whipped by a fan swooping from above, "Thanks Yumi." Odd told her with a smile. She nodded and smiled back before jumping off of the rock she had stood on.

"Guys, this is no time to be worried about manners! There are four Blocks coming up from behind and six more Crabs rounding up the front, left, and right paths! It's a lock-down; XANA doesn't plan on letting you through willfully so I guess you'll have to make your own way." Jeremie watched as the others began to take their offensive positions.

"Princess, I'd say it's time to make your way to a hiding place." Odd stated as a Crab leapt at the two and he destroyed it in mid-air. She nodded and began to run behind the exact rock that Yumi had been standing on.

Ulrich was in the middle of dodging a single Block and Crab, completely unaware that another duo was ready to leap on him from behind. He multiplied into three copies of himself and dashed straight forward, slashing his sword in a failed attempt to reach the Lyoko sign before the Block used his defense mechanism to render his attack useless.

"You wanna play rough?" Ulrich muttered angrily; he didn't want to deal with this today. Unintentionally, he looked over to see Yumi standing in front of the rock, defending both her and Aelita from another three Crabs and a single Block. She was having a bad time, especially when close combat wasn't her better of skills. Ulrich turned back and leapt up and over the Block before it was able to generate and emit a perfected attack. He jumped on top of the Block and, while it was busy trying to turn and spot him again, shoved his sword straight into the Lyoko symbol successfully, "HAH!"

Odd was currently dodging two Crabs, seeing as speed was his best bet of winning. He smirked, seemingly deciding on a tactic for victory, and stepped on the manual pedal, revolving continuously around the two XANA creatures, confusing them as they tried to catch sight of the real him.

That was when he made choice moment to strike one and ended up dematerializing it into nothing. The other took the incentive and hit him in the leg, sending him to the ground.

"ODD!" Yumi shouted, trying to see if he was okay and being hit in the chest, herself, by the Block she was facing. He got up and questioned Jeremie about both their status's.

"You both lost twenty Life Points, Odd and Yumi. You need to be careful. Don't get distracted by them! That's exactly what XANA wants!" Jeremie scolded before blinking as he looked at the maps again, "Oh my... Guys, we've got a problem. XANA's planning to ambush you while you're in the middle of your battle. I've spotted another two Crabs and four Blocks coming in from all angles. He's got you right where he wants you! You need to do something or it's hopeless." He shouted frustratedly as the amount of enemies multiplied to the third power.

"No problem Jeremie. We can handle it!" Odd stated, tackling the last Crab he was forced to match off with and sending it into oblivion, "Yumi, make a wall for Aelita, you, and me and get us all settled behind it. We can attack from there and keep up our shields and strengths; it'll ensure our safety."

"But what about--" Yumi caught sight of Ulrich facing off against another Block, too preoccupied with his battle to notice anything going on with them, "--All right." She closed her eyes and focused all of her attention on the single rock that had been used twice all ready for protection and shuddered as she felt her Psychic powers rising it into the air, also crushing it into six separate panels.

Slowly, they all fell to the ground around the three Lyoko members, keeping them hidden for the most part. Odd took one side while Yumi took the other and Aelita watched from the center to keep an eye out for anything that might sneak up on them.

"HAH!" Odd stated as he successfully shot the Lyoko symbol of a Block from a thirty foot distance. But his high self-esteem was short-lived as he shot at another and it closed its shell protectively.

"Be careful Odd, you only have five more arrows left." Jeremie warned as he saw the boy's weaponry arch draining slightly, "And Yumi, don't risk anymore of that Psychic power of yours or you'll dip into your Life Points, and you can't afford anymore of that!"

"Right." She replied calmly, as she threw her fan towards a Crab and seared it across its symbol, destroying it on contact and deleting it.

"GUYS!" It was Ulrich, and he was sporting his sword and an expression of... Well, it was a lot of things, and let's just say that joy wasn't one of them, "I need your help over here!" He was currently facing off between three Crabs and two Blocks.

Fortunately, things couldn't seem to get any worse.

"Yumi, Odd, Aelita, one of you will have to go defend Ulrich while the other guides Aelita to the Tower in the North. I don't see any other way around this!" Jeremie shouted in earnest. The others nodded to each other and Yumi jumped over their defense and decidedly began running towards Ulrich while Odd destroyed another Block, losing one of his precious arrows, and helped run Aelita straight through the fray of enemy bodies.

"What are you doing here?" Ulrich asked impatiently as Yumi stepped up to his side and threw her fan between the shafts of another Block. He, himself, was currently fighting off two Crabs at the same time, forcing them back while he readied to strike with his katanna.

"It doesn't matter to you, does it? I'm here to help; that's what I was told to do." She replied stiffly as she grabbed her fan from the Block in question and kicked it right over the cliff.

"Fine. You wanna help? You take that half and I'll take this one." Ulrich wasn't going to complain about assistance but he certainly didn't want to be this close to her when they were on such terms.

They evenly divided the opponents so that Yumi had two Crabs and a Block and Ulrich had two Blocks and a Crab. Then they set off to do the dirty work: Getting rid of them.

-

Warning Two: This part also contains slight implications of Odd/Aelita. Believe it or not, it was unintentional. (But, um, just for the Hell of it, let's dedicate the Odd/Aelita stuffing-ness to my dear friend, Ulrich/Raven/Ayashe!)

-

"All right Princess. I don't know how long I'll be able to help you so if I fall behind with the party, you'll have to go ahead by yourself!" Odd shouted at Aelita as he drew in another Mega-Tank and destroyed it on impulse, before running from behind the mound of snow they were breaking around now.

Aelita nodded and followed, running steadily as she felt the pulsations under her feet increase. They were blasting with more agility now, which meant that the two of them were getting closer to their destination. She saw Odd halt and turn but kept running, finally spotting a snow-enveloped tower in the distance. It was about two hundred-fifty meters ahead.

"LOOK OUT!" Odd shouted, as he threw her aside and took the blast of an attack that was meant for her. She felt his arms around her as she was thrust to the ground, then slowly turned her head as she saw him wavering to stand, "Sorry, couldn't let the Dear Princess hurt herself." He smiled cattily at her and then destroyed the offending Crab.

"I-I'm sorry Odd; I--" She was interrupted by Jeremie.

"Odd, you have two arrows and ten life points left and you still have a Mega-Tank and a Crab after you. Make a run for it!"

"You heard him, Princess." Odd stated with that same sheepish smile, and he took her hand and ran, Aelita following silently after him.

A hundred meters from the tower, they saw a snow-covered mountain being obliviated and turned to see the two XANA creatures hastily following after them; they were getting too close for comfort. Odd stopped and let go of Aelita's hand, pressuring her onward.

"Go on, Aelita; I'll keep them busy." He sounded way too serious to be Odd but Aelita nodded numbly again and dashed forward, evading a laser splice that was aimed at where her feet had stood a moment before.

Odd took his place behind a dead pine tree and waited. He looked around his hiding place and saw the two monsters going after Aelita, who was a mere fifty feet from the tower. He leapt from behind and took the creatures by surprise, destroying the Mega-Tank and then skidding straight past the Crab, which turned its head in his direction and attempted to aim its beam at him.

He dived and managed to miss the impact but, turning, he saw that the Crab had now forgotten all about him and was using its tiny legs to run after Aelita, who was twenty-five measly meters from the tower.

"Not happening!" He shouted and sprung his last arrow on it...

...And missed as his target scuttled around the targeted point.

"No..!" He saw it aim its laser at Aelita this time and attack. He leapt forward and, seeing the blast, threw out an arm to stop it from going any farther, as though in a game of volleyball.

The impact made him dematerialize and reappear in the scanner back on Earth, but it had given more than enough time for Aelita to envelope herself within the towers walls.

-

Ulrich was frustrated. No; he was VERY frustrated. And it wasn't about the fact that he was facing off against two Mega-Tanks and a Crab. He could have handled that. It was Yumi. She'd taken another hit in absence of concentration and she only had twenty life points left. It wasn't like she'd be deleted if she was dematerialized. It was just that Ulrich knew that her lack of nerve and focus on her battle was because of him, and he couldn't help but feel responsible.

He wanted to apologize but... Something was stopping him. What if his saying sorry didn't make a difference? What if Yumi thought that he'd gone too far this time and settled on the fact that nothing could go on between them? The fact was that he still wanted to be with her. Corny though that sounded, he loved Yumi in a way none of the other people he knew could match up to, or understand. She was more than a sister, more than a friend to him...

"ARGH!" He shouted as he was thrown back onto the ground. He had been thinking so hard that he hadn't noticed the Crab take a shot at him. He got up and cursed as he re-obtained his sword for the battle and immediately whisked it through the minuscule XANA Monster's head. It was completely destroyed and he jumped again as he somehow sensed the Mega-Tanks take aim and fire a double attack.

He couldn't keep thinking about the "what if's", he couldn't depend on the thought of apology to help him get to that point, and he couldn't live with himself knowing that Yumi would always think of him the way that she probably did at that point.

He jabbed his sword towards one of the Mega-Tanks; it shielded itself, and he did a sort of dodge, turning left, then back RIGHT, and aimed another hit at the totally exposed Lyoko symbol, making full contact. This left him with one opponent, a last Mega-Tank, which he went head to head with, throwing his sword against the steely surface.

There was a point in time in which he remembered being rolled back by the Mega-Tank, and hit again, but he didn't care anymore. All he cared about at this point was apologizing to Yumi for what he'd done half a week before, even if she would still never truly care for him again.

He got back to his feet and dashed around the Mega-Tank, then made a skidding kick to the round bottom, sending it straight into the air. He leapt up and literally turned the temporarily unresponsive XANA creature on its head, noticing its symbol fully visible, and thrusting his sword deep inside.

"Grr... YUMI, I'M SORRY!" He shouted as the Mega-Tank took one last chance to attack and hit him square in the chest, sending him flying off and to the ground, dematerializing at that point in time.

"What?" Yumi shouted. She turned-she had heard, seen everything-and smiled. Her Crab poised its beam and struck her in the arm, making her fan fly from her grasp. She realized she was hit for the last time and disappeared in a wisp of data particles just as a blinding white light enveloped the land.

-

"Return to the Past!" Jeremie shouted, tapping the 'Enter' key with his finger as everything vanished from his sight and he reappeared again in another time and place entirely.

---

A/N: Yes, the plot is officially dead. I've got the next chapter all planned out and everything and, whether it's written or not, it's still all THERE, ready to be posted... Kinda. Anyways, thanks for reading this far into the plot; I know that it was probably EXTREMELY hard for you to stay interested, which was why I included a XANA fighting scene. I thought that it might liven up the whole thing.

Also, I'd like to apologize to the readers for the following.

1.) I'm sorry that it's taken me this long, yet AGAIN, to update this fic. Like I said last time, my computer was rebooted, and the only place I had this fic stored was on a CL website... And it was, like... My draft-version, so some changes had to be made.

2.) I'd also like to say sorry for the missing XANA creatures. I know that there are at least three that I'm missing, and that I probably mixed a couple up but please... Just ignore it. The main purpose of this attack was to give our favorite lovers (U/Y) an intervention so that they could regroup and have a second chance. Otherwise, this whole thing wouldn't exist.

Anyway, please grace me with a review and thanks for reading!

Chibi is ending transmission.

PS: REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	7. Chapter Seven

****

Code: Lyoko

_Pass the Ball_

**Author**: Chibi

**Disclaimer**: Chibi does not own the characters of Code: Lyoko. Though she is unsure of the people who DO, she's positive that it isn't her. Also, the song, titled 'Subtle' DOES belong to me (that's right! CHIBI WROTE IT!) and if I catch anyone using it, they'll have only half the original amount of finger on their hands!

**Summary**: As an end-of-term fever buzzes around every student, the Principal, pressured by Sissi, agrees to throw a sware in honor of the students who would be graduating that year and all of their accomplishments. Everyone has their eyes set on someone but complicated measurements may keep them from going with who they want to go with. These measurements in turn lead to some of the most crazy matchmaking mix-ups possible. More of a social fic than a XANA-attacks-Earth-and-almost-kills-off-an-important-character fic.

**Warning**: Includes Yumi/Ulrich, Odd/Sam, and possibly Jeremie/Aelita. Also a good amount of Sissi-scheming.

**WARNING TWO**: I'M TELLING YOU NOW. THINGS WILL BE GETTING VERY SAPPY. I know that's not what Code Lyoko is LIKE, but... Oh, forget it. I'm just telling you (especially Ulrich/Yumi fans) that cavities are not the only pit stop you'll be making.

PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR THIS.

oOoOo

****

Chapter Seven (Finale)

oOoOo

"Grr... YUMI, I'M SORRY!" He shouted as the Block took one last chance to attack and hit him square in the chest, sending him flying off and to the ground, dematerializing at that point in time.

"What?" Yumi shouted. She turned-she had heard, seen everything-and smiled. Her Crab poised its beam and struck her in the arm, making her fan fly from her grasp. She realized she was hit for the last time and disappeared in a wisp of data particles just as a blinding white light enveloped the land.

oOoOo

"Return to the Past!" Jeremie shouted, tapping the 'Enter' key with his finger as everything vanished from his sight and he reappeared again in another time and place entirely.

oOoOo

The Disc jockey was on the makeshift platform again, while the students, Odd and Sam in the lead, made an example of the superb music choice as they danced to the beat. The centered disco ball and the light and smoke effects brought the common cheer from the crowd in between songs.

"I'm glad that we got out second chance after all..." Aelita giggled as she tumbled and waltzed with a still-slightly-nervous Jeremie. He gulped and nodded, finding time to dip her (A/N: Can you believe it..!) in his arms before cracking into light peals of laughter and pulling her up again.

"Me too. More than you know." He replied.

Ulrich leaned against one of the walls and attempted to shake Sissi off of him with a little more force than was necessary. Now that he had a sudden surge of courage and a reason to do so after his apology to Yumi, he found that it was quite easy to flake the ebony-haired girl from his side.

A new song started.

- _I am here, whenever you need a word  
You know that, more than anything, you can trust me  
I am like no one else to you  
I am your confidante  
I am your other soul _-

"Ulrich! I thought that you wanted to spend the night with me!" Sissi stated as she tried to latch onto his arm more effectively, but only succeeded in giving him enough incentive to finally pry her off.

"Just an innocent question but... What gave you that idea?" He stated before walking off.

Sissi growled as she saw exactly whose direction it was that he was heading in. She 'hmphed' and, crossing her arms, sidled over to her cronies along the Wallflower bench. Scoffing, she watched as a few whispers followed in her direction. Obviously, seeing the principals daughter, the one responsible for even promoting the dance in the first place, acting the part of dumped wallflower was something to talk about.

"May I cut in?" Ulrich asked Theo as their side-step was cut short. He nodded solemnly after a quick look in Yumi's direction and then walked over to the tables and took a seat, getting a drink and catching his breath.

"So, you wanna dance with me?" Yumi asked him, looking slightly flushed, "I'm flattered Ulrich."

- _I compel you to speak every little worry  
You know that I will listen, no matter how frivolous  
No matter how selfish they may seem  
I am always there to hold you  
Whenever you are let down _-

"I hope you don't mind that I saved this dance especially for you. Just one more chance tonight, Yumi. I want just one more chance to have you fall in love with me..." He looked down, watching as feet as they glided to the music in the background.

Yumi said nothing. It seemed her throat had gone permanently parched.

And so he placed one arm on her shoulder, and the other upon her waist, and he began to twirl her in tune to the music. She was a little hesitant at first, either by making a mistake in her step, or by the brittle relationship now held between them. But, after awhile, she felt her heart relaxing, and the visible stiffness eased up a bit.

"You know, Ulrich... You and I..." She was slightly red with embarrassment now at where she was trying to pull the conversation, "We knew how we felt about each other... And it makes me wonder... Why didn't we ever try to get together like this before?"

"I don't know." It seemed too simple an answer, and for a moment, Yumi was afraid that Ulrich couldn't really think of anything, "But our friendship is so complicated anymore... I mean, it's so easy to fall in love with someone... We never saw it coming, did we? But I don't regret any of it... My feelings for you... Or how long we've waited... I think there's a reason as to why we fought that day, and that was to prove to us how much we need and depend and care for each other."

Yumi smiled, but as her head was now laying on his shoulder, she didn't think he saw it, "I think you're right... And I don't regret it either."

- _You see every part of me  
I read every page of you  
And somehow, subtlely  
I'm falling in love  
With everything you do  
Everything you are  
Subtle _-

oOoOo

Two hours later, and things were beginning to calm down. Sam and Odd had actually slowed down to the pace every other student was using, Jim(bo) had invited Mrs. Hearse onto the dance floor, and they were doing some strange sort of stiff waltz (awkward, huh?), Jeremie and Aelita were currently playing host to themselves at one of the very small serves-only-two tables, and seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit (Actually, Jeremie was scarlet at the moment, and Aelita was laughing lightly, having given him that reaction in the first place), but Yumi and Ulrich were still dancing.

It was strange... They hadn't stopped once, or moved out of tune since that song. It seemed that, they alone, were immune to tiredness, strain, or any other feeling that would cause them to let go of each other.

Sissi was playing the average, prissy Wall-Flower. Herb and Nicholas were standing beside her (forcibly holding back grins) and anyone who just happened to walk by her on their way to the punch bowl made a point in gesturing towards Ulrich and asking her, "You mean he finally dumped you?"

And no matter how much she tried to defend herself ("Well, at least I have TWO dates!" She pointed at her cronies), everyone chose laughter as the best policy to throw her off.

Finally, the night was over, and everyone was beginning to retreat, either to their dorms, or to the parking lot, where their parents were supposed to pick them up and take them home. (Note: Hey, it's like midnight now. No parent would let a thirteen-to-fourteen year old kid walk home alone that late!)

"So, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah..."

Both Yumi and Ulrich were feeling rather awkward now. It seemed some sort of wish or hope wanted to be spoken, but Yumi didn't know how to say it. So Ulrich said it for her.

"Though we had a great time together tonight, I enjoy it like this, and nothing more or less. Yumi, let's not act any differently, okay? that's the last thing we deserve to do to each other."

Yumi smiled, grateful that he'd given them that much.

"Right. Thank you, Ulrich." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, leaving him looking like a scarlet Christmas ornament, "Well... Goodnight!" She ran out the door before he could comment.

Ulrich raised a hand to his cheek (still red) as a small smile appeared on his face.

That's right; nothing was different between them.

(Note: Yeah, right!)

oOoOo

A/N: I'm actually finishing the fic up there. Seriously, I have nowhere else to take it. Like I said last chapter, the plot is officially dead. I was lucky enough to have carried it on this long anyway. So, uh, there ya go. Read it, weep it, seep it, keep it. Whatever. I've done my part in writing it and you've done yours in reading. It's been fun and all but... You can just let your 'lil imaginations wander of their own accord and everything... Hey, at least you all got your romantic confession!

Oh, yes, that note above was written when I first finished the fic, so there are some additional ones that I wanted to add here. First of all, I'll place the full song "Subtle" below, but if I see it being used "illegelly" or something (meaning without my permission), I'll be forced to take the necessary actions.

Also, I wanted to inform any Yumi/Ulrich fans that I'm currently in the process of creating a new fic entitled, "The Riddled Love Letter". It'll be centered on a Yumi/Ulrich/Sissi triangle, with tons of Sissi-scheming and fluff and... Stuff. Yea. If you like Y/U, you'll like it.

So stay tuned!

oOoOo

****

Title: Subtle

**Author**: Chibi

**Note**: I mainly wrote this just for fun; that was until I found out how well it worked with some of my other stuff, namely my Code Lyoko fic.

So this if for you romance-loving fans out there! I hope that you like it!

_I am here, whenever you need a word  
You know that, more than anything, you can trust me  
I am like no one else to you  
I am your confidante  
I am your other soul_

I compel you to speak every little worry  
You know that I will listen, no matter how frivolous  
No matter how selfish they may seem  
I am always there to hold you  
Whenever you are let down

You see every part of me  
I read every page of you  
And somehow, subtlety  
I'm falling in love  
With everything you do  
Everything you are  
Subtle

You speak of fears, you speak of praise, of everything  
And I am content but to hear your voice in my ear everyday  
I am laid-back; I watch as you relax  
I am tainting you with my ease  
You are losing your restlessness

Light and heavy; your words collide  
Sweet and sultry, they form a wry phrase  
And I hear it, repeating, an echo  
As though they were my heart racing  
For it's true, with every word you speak

You see every part of me  
I read every page of you  
And somehow, subtlety  
I'm falling in love  
With everything you do  
Everything you are  
Subtle

Honesty is the rose, lie is the thorn  
Should I not tell you now, of my own burdens adorned?  
For many years pass us by, and still you do not go  
I am that much to you  
You make me feel as though  
I am worth something true

See, here we are today,  
And I am telling you  
"I love you"  
That there is no one else above you  
And that my heart is yours  
And that I am yours

You can come to me every time, I will listen to your doubts  
I will relay what I have taught myself, what makes you come about  
You know that you can trust in me  
I know everything there is to know about you  
I am your other soul, your confidante

Who is subtlety falling to your world...

oOoOo

Any comments on my work would be much appreciated.


End file.
